Marked for Murder

by Colleen Helme

  I nodded, knowing this guy had nothing to do with me. John Brown had played me. He’d used the empty office, and then set me up to come here. But why? Was he watching me right now?

  I opened my mind, hoping to pick up anything that would sound like the inner dialogue of someone watching me. With so many people around, it was like standing in a crowded room with everyone talking at the same time. Because of that, I had little hope of finding the one mind I needed.

  My phone rang with an incoming call. It read “private number,” just like the last time John Brown had called me. With rising unease, I answered. “Hello?”

  “Shelby. I see you met my friend, Jerry. I’m disappointed that you let him eat your sandwich.”

  “I wasn’t hungry.” I glanced around, hoping I could spot him. “Where are you? Why are you doing this?”

  He sighed. “Did I upset you?” When I didn’t answer, he continued with a small chuckle. “I’m sorry. I hoped the sandwich would make up for it. I suppose I was wrong.”

  “No kidding. Look… I’m done playing this little game with you. Don’t call me again.”

  “But what about Jerry?”

  I glanced Jerry’s way, then ducked my chin. “What about him?”

  “He might die if you’re not there to save him.”

  My breath caught, and the line went dead. What the freak? I glanced at Jerry, who’d been listening to my side of the conversation with rapt attention. He dipped the last of the French fries into his ketchup, caught me staring, and froze. “Did you want some?”

  “No.”

  “Who was that anyway? It sounded like the guy you were supposed to meet. Is he coming?”

  Sudden panic turned my stomach into knots. Jerry had just finished off the food meant for me. What if something was wrong with it? Is that what John meant? “Uh… yeah it was him, but he hung up on me.”

  “Is something wrong?” Jerry asked, noting the panic in my eyes.

  I let out a breath. “Uh… no. At least, I hope not.”

  “Did he say something to upset you?”

  “Yeah, kind of. I’m afraid it’s given me an anxious feeling that maybe something isn’t right.”

  Jerry’s eyes widened with sudden understanding. “You mean like a premonition?”

  “Yeah. Are you feeling okay?”

  He swore in his mind, and his stomach suddenly curdled. He’d just eaten the food meant for me. “You think there’s something wrong with the food? Was it poisoned?”

  “Uh… probably not, but I don’t know for sure. Just try not to panic. I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  Terror clawed into Jerry’s chest. What was going on? This was getting weird, and he didn’t like it one bit. He slowly got to his feet, ready to get as far away from me as he could. “Uh… it was nice meeting you and all, but I gotta go.”

  Right at that moment, I heard someone shout, Now, in his mind.

  Without waiting, I lunged at Jerry and managed to grab him around the waist. As we tumbled to the ground, a big crash sounded behind us. Half lying across Jerry, I rolled off him, shocked to find a huge clay pot had shattered across the table and chairs we’d just left. Dirt with flowers and shards of pottery had tipped Jerry’s chair over, missing his feet by mere inches.

  “What the hell?” Jerry said. “How did that get there?” He glanced my way as the realization hit him. “That could have killed me. How did you know?”

  I blew out a breath and rubbed my arm where I’d scraped it on the concrete. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. I think so.” His shoulder hurt, but he could still move it. “Did you get a premonition? Is that how you knew?” The thought crossed his mind that this was all a set-up for my benefit. More free press for me by saving another person’s life. It made him slightly ill.

  I pursed my lips, not liking where his thoughts had taken him. Did it really look that way? “Uh… it was a premonition, but please don’t tell anyone. Let’s just say we were leaving when it happened, and we got out of the way in time. Okay?”

  He nodded, but he wasn’t sure he could do that. What if I was in on it? People should know.

  “Please,” I begged. “You’d be doing me a big favor.”

  “Okay, sure.” Since I’d told him to lie, he didn’t think I had anything to do with it, but how could it be a coincidence? There had to be more to it.

  “Thanks.”

  By now, several people had gathered around us, most of them looking up at the building to see where the planter had come from.

  “Are you okay?” A woman asked, coming to my side. “That thing almost killed you both. What idiot would have a planter that big on his windowsill?”

  I got to my feet and looked up at the high rise apartments above the retail businesses. From here, I could see an open window in the apartment directly above the table. And there was no windowsill involved.

  I thanked my lucky stars I’d heard him in time. That sick bastard. He’d set me up. This whole thing was part of some diabolical plan. My legs began to shake, and anger burned in my chest. I wanted to go after him, but only people with keys could get inside the apartment building.

  That meant Jerry could get in. I grabbed his arm. “Do you know who lives in that apartment?”

  His startled gaze found mine. “No, but I could get us inside, and we could find out.”

  Before we could head that way, two men with mall security arrived. We couldn’t get out of talking to them, and I clenched my teeth in frustration. Of course, John Brown was probably long gone, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t left another calling card.

  One of the guards began to ask questions, while the other gathered bystanders who’d witnessed the event for their statements. Since Jerry and I were the obvious targets, we were first on the list. After assuring him that we were okay, I gave him my version before Jerry could say anything. “We were just walking away when it fell. I can’t believe we almost got hit.”

  By now Jerry was on my side and nodded his agreement. I thanked him with an encouraging nod and a smile. Just then, the police arrived and took over. We had to give our version of the events again, and I tapped my foot with impatience. Before we were done, one of the officers had asked the security guard to take him up to the apartment.

  “It looks like we’re too late,” I said to Jerry.

  “It’s probably for the best,” he said, thinking it wasn’t a good idea to go chasing after an attempted murderer.

  I couldn’t agree with him, and let out a frustrated breath. “Maybe if we wait around, we’ll find out who was up there.”

  The other police officer was still taking statements, and the crowd had grown. Word spread of an accident in the food court, bringing out plenty of curious shoppers. From the crowd, I caught sight of a newcomer and groaned. It was Henry, the same reporter who’d written the article about me for the paper. Damn.

  I took Jerry’s arm and pulled him away. “I’ve got to go. There’s a news reporter here. Whatever you do, please don’t tell him my name, okay?”

  Jerry nodded, but concern tightened his brow. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Uh… I don’t know. I hope not. But don’t worry. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “I hope so.” He didn’t say that just for my sake. He realized he could have been collateral damage to whatever was going on, and he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.

  “Can I get your number so I can call you later? Since you live there, you’ll have the inside scoop.”

  “Sure.” He pulled his wallet from his pocket, took out a business card, and handed it to me. “I’m retired, but the number is the same.”

  “Thanks Jerry. Try not to worry too much.” I tilted my lips up in what I hoped was an encouraging smile. “I have premonitions, remember? I’ll do my best to make sure no one gets hurt.”

  That brought a quivering smile to his lips, and I quickly walked away. As I headed to my car, dread spread through my chest like a disease. Sure I’
d put on a brave face for Jerry, but knowing someone was out there to set me up scared me to death.

  CHAPTER 5

  I sat in my car trying to decide what to do. I wanted to go to Chris’s office, but who knew whether I’d be able to talk to him. It made more sense to go straight to Dimples. He had all the resources of the police department. But he was probably still at the prison and, right now, I didn’t want to involve anyone else on the police force.

  So it had to be Uncle Joey. I knew he’d move heaven and earth to help me, and I’d be a fool not to ask. He had resources too, and I could still go to the precinct once I knew what to look for. But I wasn’t sure where to start. I needed a plan.

  What could I do to find this guy? He’d called me, but the number was blocked. I still had his note, but I didn’t have much hope that it would help me find him. He’d set up an elaborate trap to test me. Since I didn’t really have premonitions, I’d mostly failed. What did that tell him about me, and how would he use it next time?

  I shivered. He wasn’t done with me yet. He could even be watching me right now. I glanced out the windshield, noting a few people heading to their cars. As long as he stayed behind closed doors, he could be anywhere, and I wouldn’t know.

  Was this a joke to him? What motivated someone to do something like this? Was he trying to prove me wrong? Or was he trying to prove me right? Why did he even care? One thing was certain; he was flexible and had money, so he probably wasn’t tied down to a regular job.

  He’d set up the phony company in the office, so he knew something about the building. He’d also gained access to the apartments above the mall. So he either had a friend who lived there, lived there himself, or had stolen an access card.

  But that would have taken a lot of planning for someone who’d just found out about me yesterday. Could he be someone who’d heard about me before now, and yesterday’s incident had spurred him into action?

  What kind of a person did that?

  My phone rang, startling me, and I checked the number. It was blocked, just like before. Letting out a breath to steel my nerves, I answered. “Yes?”

  “Shelby,” he said. “That was close. For a moment, I was afraid you wouldn’t come through.”

  “What do you want?”

  “There’s no need to be upset.”

  “Are you freaking kidding me? You almost killed Jerry. That’s not cool. You need to stop this nonsense at once, before someone gets hurt.”

  He inhaled sharply, then huffed out a breath.

  Oops, had I just made things worse? Maybe I should appeal to his ego instead. Sweat popped out on my brow. Talking to a nut job like him was way out of my league. What if I made it worse and he killed someone to spite me?

  “Hey,” I said, in a more friendly tone. “I thought you wanted to hire me for a job. If you still want to do that, I think we should meet.”

  “Oh, I look forward to meeting you. I have to go, but I’ll be in touch. And just in case you decide not to answer my phone calls, just remember that someone might die if you don’t. It could even be during a wedding. You wouldn’t want that, would you? I’ll call you soon.” Before I could say a word, the line went dead.

  I clenched my teeth and let out a strangled groan. He knew about Dimples’s wedding? Holy hell! Why was he doing this to me? I wanted to throw my phone out the window and bang my head against the steering wheel.

  Instead, I took a deep breath and counted to ten. Right now, I needed to get out of here. He wasn’t going to get the best of me. I could deal with this.

  I pulled out of the parking garage and headed straight to Thrasher Development. Calmness settled over me just knowing that Uncle Joey had my back. This crazy person had no idea who he was dealing with. I had some things on my side that he didn’t, namely, a mob boss and a hitman. It didn’t get any scarier than that.

  Pulling into the parking garage, I got out of my car with my shoulders back and my step confident. Inside the elevator, I pushed the button for the twenty-sixth floor, marveling at how just doing that lowered my anxiety. Stepping through the doors into Thrasher Development even brought a smile to my lips.

  Jackie sat at her desk and greeted me warmly. “Hey Shelby. How’s it going?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but the warmth in my chest turned to ice. There, on the corner of her desk, sat a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

  Jackie noticed my gaze and smiled. “Aren’t they lovely? They’re for you. They just came a little while ago. I’m dying to know who sent them.”

  Holy Hell! Not here too. And why did she have to say dying? It suddenly clicked that this was all part of John Brown’s plan to freak me out. He’d sent the flowers to my house, to the police station, and here as part of his little game to get under my skin.

  Dammit! It was working.

  It also meant that he knew where I lived, and he knew I had ties to both the police and Uncle Joey. My hope that he’d run away scared because of my ties to a mob boss shriveled right out of existence. If I went to Chris’s office, would I find another floral arrangement there? Dread tied my stomach in knots and sent my heart racing.

  “There’s a card,” Jackie continued. “Why don’t you open it?”

  I moved to the flowers on leaden feet and plucked the envelope from them. Just like the others, I read my name, before pulling the tiny card out.

  “What does it say?”

  I licked my lips and swallowed before I managed to get the words out of my mouth. “It says, ‘To Shelby, You are a true hero. From, Your Secret Admirer.’”

  “Oh how sweet. Maybe it’s from someone you saved yesterday and they want to remain anonymous.”

  “Yeah, maybe so,” I agreed, barely holding it together. “Is Uncle Joey here?”

  “Sure, he’s in his office. Go on down.”

  I let out a relieved breath, not realizing until that moment how much I counted on him to help me out. “Thank you.”

  “Shelby, are you all right? You seem a little shaken.”

  “Oh… well, to be honest, I guess all the attention is a bit overwhelming. But I’m sure in a day or two it will die down.” I cringed at my stupid choice of words.

  “Yeah, that’s true.” She wasn’t convinced that I was telling the truth, but she didn’t want to pry.

  I sent her a smile. Then, since she thought it looked strained, I let it drop and turned down the hall to Uncle Joey’s office. At his door, I knocked before turning the knob and stuck my head inside. Uncle Joey sat behind his desk, and Ramos sat in a chair in front of the desk. Just the sight of them calmed my trembling nerves.

  “Shelby,” Uncle Joey said, surprised to see me. “Come on in. Ramos and I were just discussing his visit with Ethan last night.”

  “Oh, right.” For some reason, I’d totally forgotten all about that. “I saw him this morning, and he told me he would take care of the problem, so I guess your visit worked.”

  I slid into the other chair in front of Uncle Joey’s desk and closed my eyes. As the tension drained from me, I picked up that both Uncle Joey and Ramos wondered what was going on. I should be happy Ethan was cooperating.

  “Has something happened?” Uncle Joey asked.

  “Yes.” I wasn’t sure where to start. I knew he wouldn’t like any of it, but I also hoped he’d know what to do, because I had no idea. “I think I have a crazy stalker after me.”

  Surprise rippled through them both. “What? How do you know?” Uncle Joey asked.

  “Well, first of all, he started sending me flowers. That bouquet out there is the third one I’ve gotten. The first one came to my house yesterday afternoon, then another was sent to the police station this morning, and now there’s one here.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Uncle Joey said. “It came about half an hour ago.”

  Just hearing that sent little shivers down my spine. Half an hour ago, I was nearly killed by a potted plant. He must have been pretty sure I’d survive.

  “What else?” Uncle Joey asked. />
  “After the news broke yesterday about the shooting, I got a phone call from a man who said his name was John Brown. He had a British accent, but I’m pretty sure it’s fake. In fact, in his last phone call, I hardly heard it at all.” That had to be a clue, right? If he was trying to sound different, maybe he was someone I’d met before.

  “Go on,” Uncle Joey said, snapping me from my thoughts.

  “Uh… he wanted to hire me, and we set up an appointment to meet in his office at eleven today. But when I went to his office, all I found was a note telling me he wasn’t there. It said that if I had real premonitions, I would have known that.”

  I pulled the note from my purse. “Here it is.” I set it on Uncle Joey’s desk where they could read it. After I heard a few curse words in their minds, I continued, “That’s when it got weird.”

  I explained what had happened next, and went into detail about meeting Jerry, the food, hearing the ‘now’ thought, and barely getting out of the way of a potted plant. “Then he called me again just before I came over here.”

  “What did he say?” Ramos asked, his tone edged with anger.

  “Well, he was kind of gloating, and I told him to knock it off before someone got hurt. I don’t think he liked that much, so I changed tactics and told him we should meet up.”

  Uncle Joey’s brows rose, so I continued. “I need to meet him in person so I’ll know exactly what he’s thinking.”

  Uncle Joey heaved a resigned sigh, knowing I was probably right, no matter how much he didn’t like it. “What did he say then?”

  This was the part that creeped me out. Unable to sit still, I jumped to my feet and began to pace. “He said he was looking forward to it, and I’d better make sure to answer my phone when he called or someone might die. He even spoke about something bad happening at a wedding.”

  I caught Uncle Joey’s gaze, barely keeping my panic at bay. “That means he knows about Dimples’s wedding this weekend. Even if I don’t go, or answer my phone, he threatened that someone might die because I wouldn’t be there to save them. I hate this! I need to find this nutcase before anything else happens.”